Though the 2026 NFL Draft class isn't considered as deep to previous classes, this year's pool of prospects still has top-end talent, especially on the defensive side.

One of the top defensive players on the board is Miami defensive end Rueben Bain Jr., who willed the Hurricanes to the College Football Playoff national championship game with his athleticism and explosiveness off the edge alongside Akheem Mesidor.

The defensive wrecker racked up a career-high 54 tackles, 15.5 tackles for a loss, and 9.5 sacks in 16 games last year, earning him ACC Defensive Player of the Year and Ted Hendricks Award honors.

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Bain checks in as the ninth-best overall prospect in this year's draft class by USA TODAY Sports' Ayrton Ostly. He is also projected to go No. 12 overall to the Dallas Cowboys in USA TODAY Sports' latest NFL mock draft.

For all Bain's production on the field, one measurement taken at the NFL combine last month has given some analysts pause on whether he can truly be elite — and whether it will cost him in the NFL draft.

Here's what to know:

Rueben Bain Jr. arm length

Bain measured in with 30 7/8-inch arms at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis last month at Lucas Oil Stadium. As noted by USA TODAY, Bain's arm length has him in the first percentile among edge rushers and defensive linemen since at least 2010, according to MockDraftable's database of NFL combine measurements.

The common arm length measurement for edge rushers is 33 inches for edge rushers, with just three players since 2010 having shorter arms. Should Bain be taken in Thursday's first round, he'll have the shortest arm length for any edge rusher drafted in the first round since 2003, per ESPN Research data.

Why is arm length important in edge defenders?

Bain's arm length has been a frequent topic of conversation with his NFL draft profile, mainly because it's an outlier in what is otherwise considered one of the top defensive prospects of the draft, and at a premium position.

Edge rushers are among the most highly sought-after and expensive positions in today's NFL. Just ask edge Texans edge Will Anderson Jr. — whose arms are 3 inches longer than Bain's — who signed a three-year, $150 million contract extension following an All-Pro campaign to make him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

Conversely, ask New England Patriots offensive lineman Will Campbell, and how he struggled to win battles with elite edge rushers through the Patriots' run to the Super Bowl — Anderson among them.

Bain's arm length wasn't a focal point during his team interviews with NFL teams at the combine, he said.

"I didn't hear it until later in the year, but it kind of surprised me because I never heard it all my life," Bain said at the NFL combine. "I don't give it the time of day, honestly."

Speaking with the NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe after Miami's pro day in late March, Bain made a reference to boxing legend Mike Tyson with how he has been handling the criticism of his arm length and focusing just on the controllable and his game.

"Like Mike Tyson … he wasn't the tallest guy. He wasn't the longest-limbed guy. But when you felt him, you felt him. You kept your distance," Bain told Wolfe.

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Bain isn't the only edge rusher who measured low with their arm length. Former Texas A&M edge rusher Cashius Howell logged in at just 30 1/4-inches, which is the shortest figure since at least 2010. So is the arm length of an edge rusher the be-all and end-all in whether a team takes them in the NFL draft?

"With some guys, it is," Miami Dolphins coach and former Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley said at the NFL combine. "Some guys with short arms, they kind of get eaten up, but some guys are so quick where they can get their hands inside first and still disengage.

"So in an ideal world, would you love to have a guy with long arms? Yeah, absolutely. But I think there's other guys that have shorter arms that are really good edge rushers or really good inside."

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rueben Bain Jr. arm length, and why that matters for NFL draft prospect